Gas holder



Aug. 9, 1932. J. R. sANTos `GAS HOLDER Filed Aug. 29, 1928 Y .Ou Q .Q/d i@ .|1 ..n /7 fr n/N A 1 .m. O

abtozwup Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED sTATss PATENT ortica JOHN R. L. SANTOS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE BARTLETT HAY- WARD COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND GAS HOLDER Application filed August 29, 1928. Serial No. 302,783.

This invention relates to waterless gas holders, and particularly to means for sealing the joint between the vertically movable piston and the shell of the holder.

The purpose of the invention is to provide `a peculiarly flexible packing structure, which while maintaining a tight seal, will impose minimum friction upon the upward and downward movement of the piston.

A practical embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,-

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the shell of the holder and of the peripheral portion of the coactng piston.

1 Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, drawn on a slightly enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view looking at the rear -face of the movable packing element.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view looking at the front or sealing tace of the packing element.

In the drawing a cylindrical holder shell is illustrated, butl it will vbe understood that the invention can be applied. with minor and obvious modifications, to holders of polygonal cross section.

The vertical wall or shell of the holder is indicated at 6. The' piston includes a plate- ,like structure 7, a depending' skirt or flange 8, and a peripheral trough surrounding the lower portion of the skirt 8 and made up ot a bottom plate 9 and an encircling plate 11. The piston structure as a whole may be guided 4in any familiar way, for example, by means oi rollers 12 which engage the shell 6 and which are supported on vbrackets 13, only one roller and bracket being shown.

The trough structure just mentioned is slightly smallerxthan the internal diameter of the shell 6 and is used to retain a bath 14 of lubricant.

Encircling and spaced from the skirt 8 is an annular flexible member 15 which may be made up of any suitable material, but preferably is made of liexible sheet material having` the general physical characteristics of fabric belting. It should be quite flexible and impervious to the gas confined in the holder and to the liquid lubricant making up the bath 14. This annulus 15 series of spaced blocks 16 bolted brackets 17.

Mounted on the top plate T of the piston are a plurality of brackets 18, to which are pivoted, at 19, the levers 21. The levers 21 are also pivoted to corresponding brackets 17, as shown at 22, and carry weights 23 so arranged as to urge the lower ends ot the levers 21 outward, thus tending to distend the annulus 15 and torce it toward the wall 6 of the shell. 1n otherwords the weighted levers form yielding means to distend the an nulus. The lower margin of the annulus 15 dips into the lubricant bath 14 and forms a dip seal therewith. The upper end carries a sealing structure made up of a plurality of strips 25 of absorbent material, for example, felt. It is impracticable to make these strips continuous around the piston and they are therefore made in sections, but the joints between adjacent sections are staggered so as to preclude leakage.

The strips 25 are confined between an upper angle iron 26 and a lower angle iron 27, both ot which are riveted through the annulus 15 to the blocks 16. The rivets are clearly indicated at 28. The strips are further conned by a series of vertical bolts 29 which pass through the horizontal flange of the angles 26 and 27 and through the intervening strips 25.

It will be observed that the surface of the lubricant bath 14C, on the outer side of the annulus 15, is subject to the pressure of the gas confined in the shell 6 below the pist-on. It follows therefore that this gas pressure is suiiicient to support a considerable column of liquid which rises between the a-nnulus 15 and the skirt 8. The parts are so designed that the upper liquid level is below but near the top of the annulus 15. This provides a convenient means tor feeding lubricant to the. packing strips 25.

To accomplish this result oil feeding aperis backed by a to which are ltures 31 are formed in the annulus 15` which to afford these intervals, but any desired arrangement might be made so long as lubricant will be fed to the surface of Contact between the group of strips 25 and the shell 6. As just noted, oil is referred to as the lubricant, and such oil may be leight or heavy, or a light tar may be employ In a prior application Serial No. 302,7 82 filed August 29, 1928, I have described and claimed a packing structure in which the packing element is sealed in n bath of liquid and the pressure of gas in the holder .is used to feed the lubricant. Consequently no broad claim to that construction is made herein.

What is claimed is,-

1. In a waterless ygas holder, the combination of a shell; a piston vertically movable therein to vary the effective volume of the holder; a liquid-retaining trough encircling the piston; a packing structure encircling the piston,

contacting the shell and forming a freely movable dip seal with the liquid in the trough, the liquid in the trough being subject to the pressure of the gas Within the holder, said arrangement providing means for forcing the lubricant to the packing; and a plurality of weighted levers for Inovably supporting and guiding the packing strucsa ture.

2. In a waterless gas holder, the combination of a shell; a piston vertically movable therein to var the effective volume of the holder; a lubricant-retaining trough carried by the piston and encircling the same, the lubricant therein being subject to the pressure of the gas within the holder; an annular flexible member surrounding the periphery of the piston; a series of supports serving to sustain said annular member withits lower e re pendant in the lubricant in said trough; means tending at all times to urge said annular member toward the shell; .and a substantially continuous sea-ling element carried by said flexible annular member and contacting said shell, said sealing member cooperating with the annular member aforesaid to provide means for forcing the lubricant to the sealing element by action of the pressure of the as upon the lubricant.

3. In a water ess gas holder, the combina tion of a shell; a piston vertically movable therein to vary the effective volume of the holder; a lubricant-retaining trough carried by the piston and encircling the same; an annular flexible member surrounding the periphery of the piston; a series of movable supports serving to sustain said annular member with its lower edge pendant in the lubricantl in said trough; means tending at all times to urge said annular member toward the shell; a substantially continuous sealing element carried by said exible annular member and contacting said shell; and G5 means directly operated by the pressure of the confined gas to feed lubricant from the trough to said sealing element.

4. In a waterless gas holder, the combination of a shell; a piston vertically movable therein to var the effective volume of the holder; a retaining trough for 1i uid lubricant carried by and encircling t e piston, the liquid in said trough being subject to the pressure of the gas within the holder; an annular flexible member havi the ganeral characteristics of fabric baiting Bncircling the piston with its lower edge dipping into the liquid in said trough; a plurality of levers mounted on the piston and supporting said flexible member at short intervals; means for urging said levers toward the shell; and sealing mea/ns carried b said fiexible member and engaging the shell', said sealing means cooperatin with the annular flexible member aforesai to provide means for forcing the lubricant liquld to the sealing element by action of the pressure of the gas upon the lubricant.

5. In a waterless as holder, the combination of a shell; a piston vertically movable therein to vary the effective volume of the holder; a liquid-retaining trough carried by and encircling the iston; an annular exble member having t e general characteristics of fabric belting encircling the piston with Q5 its lower edge dipping into the liquid in said trough; a plurality of levers mounted on the piston and supporting said flexible member at short intervals; means for urging said levers toward the shell; sealing 8,)0 means carried by said flexible member above the mar in of said trough; and means rendered e ective by direct pressure of gas within the holder beneath the piston for feeding lubricant from said trough 'to said sealing :m5

means.

6. In a waterless gas holder, the combination of a shell; a piston vel-finally movable therein to vary the effective volume of the holder; a lubricant-retaining trough; a packlo ing structure encircling the piston, contacting the shell and forming a di seal with the lubricant in the trough, sald lubricant being subject over a portion of its area to the direct pressure of the gas within the :145 holder; and means for feeding lubricant eleva'ted by said pressure to the area of contact between the packing structure and the shell.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN R. L. SANTOS. 

